David C. Gnage, Penn State Mont Alto chancellor, retiring

MONT ALTO — After a long career in higher education, Penn State Mont Alto Chancellor David C. Gnage has announced that he will retire at the end of this academic year.

Gnage was appointed chancellor of the campus in January 2002.

Accomplishments

Under his leadership, Penn State Mont Alto has increased degree options, including the bachelor’s degree in information sciences and technology with the securities and risk analysis minor and the bachelor’s degree in letters, arts and sciences, a multi-disciplinary, theme-oriented, student-designed major that enables students to prepare for a wide range of careers.

Additionally, the nursing program has doubled in size and degrees are available at five off-campus — Gettysburg, Hanover and York and at JLG and Manitowoc.

Other achievements include more than doubling the endowment for student scholarships, increased grant funding for research and instruction, the enhancement of intercollegiate athletics, the installation of a new baseball stadium and the addition of wrestling.

Under his leadership, Mont Alto also has expanded physically with the purchase of several acres of land adjacent to campus, and it has continued to build upon its roots as a forest academy with the expansion of the arboretum and campus beautification projects.

“My primary focuses have been meeting the educational and training needs of the greater community, insuring that the campus has the programs in place to help students achieve their goals and that faculty and staff have the tools they need to do their work,” said Gnage.

Gnage serves on the boards of several community groups including United Way, Leadership Franklin County, Totem Pole Play House and the South Central Workforce Investment Board, where he is active in health careers education. He also has served on the Franklin County Area Development Corp., and as treasurer of the Nicodemus Center. In addition, he is the past president of Healthy Communities Partnership and the Rotary Club of Chambersburg. He is a member of the Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Mercersburg and Gettysburg chambers of commerce and of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce in Hagerstown.

His career also leadership positions at Arizona International College of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Broward Community College in Florida and Genesee Community College in New York.

“I have truly enjoyed my time at Penn State Mont Alto,” Gnage said, “and I now look forward to spending more time with my family, and to returning to the classroom in my retirement.”

After his retirement, Gnage plans to live with his wife Marie Foster Gnage, who is the president of West Virginia University of Parkersburg.

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